The sequel to 2017’s Dark Imperium and the second book in the trilogy, Guy Haley’s Dark Imperium: Plague War continues the story of Guilliman’s ongoing battle against the forces of his brother Mortarion. With the Death Guard rampaging throughout Greater Ultramar, Guilliman makes for embattled Parmenio where he hopes to bring Mortarion to battle and kill his corrupted brother once and for all. Forces from both sides of the conflict are drawn to Parmenio, from Mortarion’s daemonic allies to the great space station Galatan, while Guilliman’s determined secular stance is challenged by growing evidence of something (potentially) divine making itself known.
There’s a tighter focus this time around, foregoing the grand sweep of the wider conflict and focusing in on events on and leading to Parmenio. That being said, there’s plenty of variety here with multiple character arcs (on both sides) showing events from various perspectives, including Typhus and Ku’gath on the Nurgle side, and Justinian, Frater Mathieu (both from book one) and various other Imperial servants (including a Reaver Titan princeps). They’re all headed for Parmenio one way or another, and for the most part their arcs are cleverly interlinked, each one serving a purpose and generating forward momentum. There’s perhaps less of Guilliman and the Ultramarines than you might expect, but it makes for a balanced narrative and an interesting mix of characters.
Familiar themes carry over from book one, most notably the ongoing attempts of both Guilliman and the Primaris Marines – in the shape of Justinian, now a Novamarine – to adapt to the Imperium and their places within it. Justinian’s difficulties in finding a place within his new Chapter contrast with the successes of Tetrarch Felix in the Ultramarines, as Haley continues to explore the integration of the Primaris, but really it’s Guilliman’s relationship with the Imperium’s faith that takes centre stage. Frater Mathieu plays a bigger part this time, and in conjunction with the strange manifestation on Parmenio there’s a really interesting discussion of how the Imperium sees Guilliman as the son of their god, how he sees his father, how he understands the need to maintain relationships with the Ministorum, and so on. There are few outright answers here, but lots of interesting questions and ideas.
In fact, there’s lots going on here in general, and Haley does a great job of balancing out the battles with the exploration of themes and posing of questions, although pacing-wise it might feel a little slow in places to anyone more interested in the action than the rest of it. Of all the subplots, Typhus’ part in the battle for Galatan is perhaps not quite as well integrated into the overall story as the other arcs, but perhaps we’ll see more context around that in the next instalment of the trilogy. Overall it definitely feels like this is setting things up for a payoff in the next book, with plenty of plot strands left tantalisingly dangling, but as a novel in its own right it’s complex, thought-provoking and entertaining, and should appeal to anyone keen to learn more about this important moment in 40k’s ongoing narrative.
